SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER

• Wisconsin has nearly 11,500 public water systems which meet the daily water needs of about 4 million people. Public water systems that are owned by a community are called municipal water systems. Florence County has 1 municipal water system.  

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   

• 1 of 1 municipal water system in Florence County has a wellhead protection plan: Florence Utility Commission.
• 1 of 1 municipal water system in Florence County has a wellhead protection ordinance: Florence Utility Commission.
• Florence County has not adopted an animal waste management ordinance.

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

• Over $2 million have been spent on petroleum cleanup in Florence County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $511 per county resident.
• No municipal water systems in Florence County have spent money to reduce nitrate levels.

GROUNDWATER USE    

• From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Florence County has increased from about 280,000 gallons per day to about 540,000 gallons per day to 2000.  Total water use in 2005 decreased to 320,000 gallons per day.*
• The increase and decrease in total water use is due primarily to domestic use.
• The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater has remained at 100% except in 1995 when it was 98%.*
• Water use in Wisconsin is generally estimated for the following categories:
  • Domestic
  • Livestock
  • Aquaculture
  • Irrigation
  • Industrial
  • Commercial
  • Public use and losses
  • Thermoelectric or mining*

* Thermoelectric and mining data are not considered in water-use tables or figures on this web site. Thermoelectric-power water use is the amount of water used in the process of generating thermoelectric power. The predominant use of water is as non-contact cooling water to condense the steam created to turn the turbines and generate electricity.

SUSCEPTIBILITY OF GROUNDWATER TO CONTAMINANTS   

• Wisconsin has abundant quantities of high-quality groundwater, but once groundwater is contaminated, it's very expensive and often not technically possible to clean.
• An evaluation of the susceptibility of groundwater to contamination in Florence County can be seen in the FULL REPORT or accessed through the map link above.

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

• 100% of 26 private well samples collected in Florence County from 1990-2006 met the health-based drinking water limit for nitrate-nitrogen.  
• A 2002 study estimated that 18% of private drinking water wells in the region of Wisconsin that includes Florence County contained a detectable level of an herbicide or herbicide metabolite. Pesticides occur in groundwater more commonly in agricultural regions, but can occur anywhere pesticides are stored or applied.   
• There are no atrazine prohibition areas in Florence County.
• 74% of 151 private well samples collected in Florence County met the health standard for arsenic.

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

• There are 4 open-status sites in Florence County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 2 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 1 Environmental Repair (ERP) site and 1 spill site.   
• There are no concentrated animal feeding operations in Florence County.
• There are no licensed landfills in Florence County.
• There are no Superfund sites in Florence County.

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